(1) Death Notice:
Leon Phillips, father of television reporter, dies at 79
Leon Phillips, father of 8 Country Reporter Bob Phillips, died Thursday of complications from emphysema and leukemia at Good Samaritan Lake Forest Retirement Home in Denton.
Graveside services for Mr. Phillips, 79, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at McComb Cemetery in Grayson County.
A native of Whitesboro, Texas, Mr. Phillips spent his working career as an employee and independent operator of Dunlap-Swain Tire Co. For 10 years, Mr. Phillips managed that company's Texaco station at University Boulevard and Hillcrest Road.
The outgoing Mr. Phillips was known for his practical jokes, Bob Phillips said.
"This was a man who would do things like put sardines under the seat of your car seat in the heat of summer and roll up the windows," Mr. Phillips said.
Mr. Phillips was a former deacon of East Dallas Baptist Church. Since retiring in 1983, he lived in Whitesboro.
In addition to his son, Mr. Phillips is survived by another son, Bill Phillips of Nashville, Tenn.; two sisters, Lena Christopher of Collinsville, Texas, and Doris Sutton of Whitesboro; a brother, Ray Phillips, Jr. of Lovington, N.M.; and three grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Good Samaritan Lake Forest Retirement Home in Denton.
(2) Obituary:
Leon Phillips, 79, passed away July 31, 1997. He was born December 15, 1917, in Whitesboro, Texas.
Before moving to Dallas during World War II, he worked as a farmer in Grayson County. For forty years he worked in Dallas area service stations, becoming manager of Dunlap-Swain Tire Company. For more than 10 years he managed the Texaco service station at Hillcrest and University and was well known by many students, staff and faculty of Southern Methodist University.
He is survived by two sons, Bob Phillips, host of the 8 Country Reporter television program, and Bill Phillips of Brentwood, Tennessee; three grandchildren; two sisters and a brother.
Graveside services will be at McComb Cemetery in Grayson County at 10 A.M. Saturday, August 2nd. Visitation will be from 7-8 p.m. Friday at Huf Funeral Home in Whitesboro. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Good Samaritan Lake Forest Retirement Home in Denton.
Source: The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, Friday, August 1, 1997
